New Delhi: The BCCI has decided to use ‘limited DRS’ during the Ranji Trophy knockout matches from this season in a bid to cut down on umpiring howlers that grabbed headlines during previous seasons.
The DRS version to be used during the domestic tournament will not comprise Hawk-Eye and UltraEdge, the two key elements of the system used in international cricket.
A lot of controversial decisions were taken by on-field umpires during the Ranji Trophy last season, including the semi-final between Karnataka and Saurashtra in Bengaluru, and BCCI’s general manager of cricket, Saba Karim said it is important to avoid such howlers in future.
“Last year, in some of the knockout matches, there was some flak on umpires because there were some terrible howlers,” Karim said. “So we want to avoid all that and use whatever help we can get. For the knockouts in Ranji Trophy matches, we will utilise all the technology available to us as a means to apply the limited DRS to help the on-field umpires make the correct decision.”
Multiple umpiring errors had marred the Ranji semifinals with Cheteshwar Pujara being let off twice – once in each innings.
The India Test specialist went on to score a century which changed the course of the match as hosts Karnataka failed to seal a spot in the Ranji final last season.
Captains and coaches later called for the introduction of DRS in Ranji Trophy games during a Conclave in Mumbai last May.
Committee of Administrators (CoA) then approved the decision to implement this limited version of the DRS in June.
Karim said there will be a ‘brainstorming session’ with match officials, including umpires and referees, and the board’s broadcasting team to find a way implement the available technology.
“We are just trying to use it as an experiment just to see how much it can be useful to domestic cricket. We will use whatever cameras we can use to come to the right decision,” he said.
PTI